How do I set up my account for the ACCESS for ELLs Test Administrator Training Course?

You will need:

Your name

Your email address

Your school's test chair will register you for an account. Afterwards, you should receive an enrollment email with your username and password. If you don't see this message, please check your spam and bulk mail folders.

Contact your ELL Coordinator for help setting up your account.

Am I required to take the test administrator training quizzes to become approved to administer the ACCESS test?

Yes. Log In to take the test administrator training quizzes. You must receive a passing score of 80% on all applicable quizzes.

Do I need to retake the training quizzes if I passed them in a previous year?

Once you have taken the complete training and passed the quizzes, only the speaking portion of the training and its corresponding quiz must be retaken every year.

Do I need to show proof of my passing quiz grades (80%) from previous years?

No. D.C. Public Schools maintains a list of individuals with passing quiz grades for each year. Charter school teachers must provide proof of a passing quiz grade.

1. Will the District of Columbia be administering online or paper ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 in 2015-2016?

In the District of Columbia ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 will be administered online with the exception of the Kindergarten assessment, which will be administered as a paper-based assessment. All of the technology requirements for administering the online ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 are aligned to those of the PARCC administration. The only additional technology requirement is the headset/microphone. For reference, the technology requirements can be viewed at https://www.wida.us/assessment/ACCESS20.aspx#tech. The paper version of the assessment will be made available for special circumstances; such as, a recent immigrant student who is not familiar with the technology or a student whose IEP or 504 plan necessitates the paper version.
Alternate ACCESS for ELLs continues to be a paper-based assessment and will continue to be administered to eligible students.

2. Will 4th and 5th grade ELLs on the Writing test respond by handwriting or keyboarding?

In the District of Columbia the default response platform for 4th and 5th grade Writing test will be keyboarding. However, this is an LEA-level decision; the default response option can be changed to handwriting prior to test administration. The LEA technology coordinator will have the capabilities to alter these settings.

3. What type of training is available for ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 for the three roles of those participating in delivery - Test Administrators, Test Coordinators, Tech Coordinators?

The District of Columbia is utilizing the WIDA checklists for ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 training purposes. WIDA developed these checklists to provide specific information to support test preparation and administration for ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 in 2015-16. These checklists are for the following roles:

Technology Coordinator - responsible for all technical and system set up for online testing

All Test Administrators must pass all web-based quizzes with a score of 80% or higher. Training certificates on the WIDA website portal will be updated as a record of completion. Both the training certificates and the completed checklists should be printed for inclusion in the test administration binder. All trainings must be completed prior to the start of the testing window (4/25/2016).

Administrators of the paper-based test should note that if they are scoring Speaking, they will need to complete a new Speaking scoring module that outlines new scoring procedures.